Vacuum power and water reclaimer device



Aug. 10, 1937.

V. P. M VOY VACUUM POWER AND WATER RECLAIMER DEVICE Original Filed Nov. 28, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 10, 1937. v. P. MCVOY 2,089,565

VACUUM POWER AND WATER RECLAIMER DEVICE Original Filed Nov. 28, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Vapor Z ine Z vaporaZZr Was Q ulenser Walter 105! Zing Viv 3 noentor Vincem Z M V0 attorney Patented Aug. 10, 1937 UNITED STATES VACUUM POWER AND WATER RECLAIMER DEVICE Vincen P. McVoy, Mobile, Ala., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Vacuum Engine Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application November 28, 1934, Serial No. 755,236

Renewed September 3, 1936 6 Claims.

The present invention relates to power plants, and has for an object to provide a device of this character wherein the usual proportion of water is reclaimed from used steam and wherein additionally the heat of condenser cooling Water is used for evaporating from the condenser cooling water a sufiicient amount of fresh water to make up the loss in the condensation of the used steam, and also to obtain power for driving an engine in the evaporating of the fresh water from the condenser cooling water.

Another object of this invention is to provide an absolute pressure chamber for the treatment of the waste hot water from the condenser to take off vapors which increase the absolute pressure on the pressure side of the piston of an engine, and to utilize the differential absolute pressures at the opposite sides of the piston for operating the engine.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, the invention will be more fully described hereafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a diagrammatic elevation of a device constructed according to the present invention.

' Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view through the upper end portion of the engine of Figure 1, showing the valve structure, and

Figure 3 is a sectional diagrammatic view of the condensing and vaporizing portion of the device.

Referring to the drawings, 25 indicates a low pressure steam boiler of any suitable type from which is carried a steam pipe 26 leading to the intake 21 of the valve chamber of an engine 28. The engine 28 may be of any suitable type, such as a reciprocating piston steam engine with the exception of an improved valve structure, as is disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 755,237 filed November 28, 1934, now Patent No. 2,040,865.

Reference is now made to Figure 2, taken from the above referred to application in which 28 indicates the engine or cylinder having a piston 26 therein. The piston has a rod 21' extending through the bottom of the cylinder 28. At one side, the cylinder 28 has a port block 32' having opposite end ports 33' and 34 therein which open through the outer side of the block 32'. Between the outer ends of the ports 33' and 34' is an outlet or exhaust port 29 which leads to a source of a relatively low absolute pressure, such as about one pound absolute pressure obtained from the condenser 30 to which the exhaust port 29 is connected as shown in Figure l.

A steam or valve chest 36' is secured against the block 32' and is provided therein with a pair of slidably interfitting valve Pistons 31' and 38'.

A third valve piston 39 is fixed to the upper end of the valve chest 36', and has an inlet stem or pipe 53, and engages in the bore of the intermediate slidable valve piston 38'. The valve pistons are each provided with sealing rings 40 advan- I rality of openings 42' therein slightly below the central portion of the valve piston and both of the valve pistons 31 and 38 are open at their up- I per ends while the lower end of the outer valve piston 31' is also open. The intermediate valve piston 38' is shorter than the outer valve piston 31 and is adapted to be shifted therein while the inner valve piston 39 is stationary and engages in 9 the upper end only of the intermediate valve piston 38.

The intermediate valve 38' has a valve rod 43 which passes downwardly through the valve chest 36' to the valve operating mechanism. The" outer valve piston 31' has a sleeve 46 extending about the rod 43' and which is also connected to the valve operating mechanism. As shown in Figure 2 the ends of the ports 33', 34' and 29 extend annularly about the inner wall of the? valve or steam chest 36' so as to surround the valves in the chest. The inner piston valve 39' is hollow to provide a supplemental intake passage into the steam chest 36' while the outer wall of the steam chest has a longitudinal passage '52"- interconnecting the opposite ends of steam or Vapor chambers 53 of the steam chest.

The exhaust or outlet pipe 29 leads from the engine into the intake of a main condenser 30 which is a source of very low absolute pressurefi' such as about two pounds; the condensate being carried ofi through a pipe 3| leading to an air or vacuum pump 32 and thence through a pipe 33 into a heater 34. The hot condensate passes out of the heater 34 through a pipe 35 to a feed pump or the like returning the water to the boiler 25 under pressure of a pump 36. From the top of the heater 34 the gases are taken off by a pipe 31 leading to a separating tank 38, and from the tank 38 through a pipe 39 to the fire box of the boiler 25.

The water pump 36 may be operated by waste exhaust steam from any suitable source entering the steam cylinder of the pump through a pipe 40 and out of an exhaust pipe 4| which may be carried into the heater 34, as shown in Figure 3.

From the heater 34 the exhaust steam is carried through'a pipe 42 into the condenser 30.

Surface water enters the condenser 30 for cooling the same through a pipe 43 and leaves the condenser through a pipe 44 which may lead back to the source of water or waste. A valve 45 is disposed in the pipe'% to control passage of the waste water therethrough and between the valve 5 45 and the condenser 30 the pipe Mi has a by-pa'ss pipe 46 with a heater 4'! therein to receive a-desired proportion of the waste water. The heater 41 has a supply pipe 68 connected. to the spraying head 38 of an evaporator cylinderlilfiidis- 15 five inches on the cylinder 49. The pipe 59 may be directly connected tothe pump32, as shown, 'orin any other suitable manner. A diaphragm regulating valve 5! is placed in the pipe to regulate the vacuum on the evaporator-cylinder.

20 The return by-pass pipe 52 leads from the bottom of'the evaporator cylinder 39 to thewaste 'outlet pipe 44 at a point outwardly of the valve '45. The cylinder 49,-in actual use, is elevated proportional to the low absolute pressure dev'25sired to prevent priming back into the engine through the vapor pipe 53 and to provide a gravity column in the pipe 52 for the proper discharge of the water accumulating in the bottom of the cylinder 49, known assurface water.-

: The vapor pipe 53 leads. from the top of the pylinder 49 to the supplemental intake, or the. in- -terior of'the fixedvalve piston 39, of the en- 'gine28.. j

In theoperation ofthe engine, the condenser 30, which is a source of relatively low absolute pressure, is'connected to the exhaustline- 29 of the engine and thus places the interior of the steam chest 36 in the condition of a relatively 'low" absolute pressure. 'As'shown'in Figure 2, the

- 40 piston 26 is in its upper dead center position and the valve gear of the engine is so arrangedthat at this time the upper openings M. of the outer Valve sleeve or piston-'31 are :inpartial communication with the upper fluid distributing-port 45 33' which leads to the topof the cylinder .28. As the upper end of thevalve piston 37] is open steam from-the pipe 2'! and upper, chamber 53 enters the piston'31' and passes out through the openings 4 I into the annular space between the adja- 50 cent packing rings 40' and through the passage 33' to the top of the piston 26'. This imparts an initial impulse tothe piston 26 and starts the latter on its downward stroke or movement. During the cycle of operation, after a short downward 55 movement of the piston 25"the openings ii are cut ofi'by a'first upward movement of the. intermediate valve piston" 38",the latter also closing 'the port 33'-and'the steam above the pistQn-ZG' is permitted-to expand for a further short-movecement of thepiston 26'. g

The exhaust port,"or low absolute pressure line, 29 is gradually opened to agreaterextent; during the operationof the valve pistons 31 and 38' so as to establish'the lowabsolute pressure con- 5 dition created by the condenser fifl at the underside of the piston 26'. I

When the steam expands substantially .to its -full working capacity above the piston25' the valve pistons 31' and 38 move into such relative -7 positions that the valve openings it areruncovered by the upperend of the intermediate valve piston 3.8 andestablishcommunication between the intermediate annular space of the middle Valve piston 38'; its openings 32 and the inte- 7 -rior.of the inner fixed valve piston 39so that evaporator cylinder 49. entering the upper portion of the cylinder is is the pressure fluid from the vaporizer 49, which is less than the relatively high pressure in pipe 2? and greater than the exhaust back pressure in the displacement line 29, will be delivered through the engine ports 42, 4 i and 33 into the cylinder 5 at the'upper side of the piston 26 and thereby relieve the tendency to produce a vacuum at that sideof the piston.

Thus it will be seen that the piston will con- ,tinue its movement due to the difierential in presl0 sures between the vaporizer 49 and the condenser Instarting up the power plant, surface water is forcedthrough the pipe 33 into the condenser 30 and the valve 45 is opened so as to allow the waste water from the condenser 38 to pass out of the discharge pipe Mas waste. The valve in the steampipe 26,. which leads from the boiler 25, is opened .to admit steam in the usual manner to the engine 28 for starting the operation of the engine as specifically above set forth. The operation'of the engine starts the operation of the airior vacuum pump 32 so as to reduce the absolute pressure in the condenser 3t and the pipe 29 which leads from the engine 28 to the condenser,

thus producing a low absolute pressure in the engine 2 8, the pipe 29 and the condenser 39. As the absolute pressure decreases in the pipe 29,

the valvein the steam pipe 25 is proportionately -closed as when theengineisrunning normally but a slight volume of steam is required, suffi- 'cient only to preventformationof a vacuum on the pressure side of. the piston.

With reference to Figure 1,-st'eam from the boiler 25 is admitted through the pipe '25 and its -from the vaporizer 49 provides a source of high absolute pressure, such as about twelve'pounds absolute pressure and admits a continued downward movement of the piston 25.

The outlet 29 of theengine provides a very f low absolute pressure, such as about two pounds from the condenser 39 where the vapors are withdrawn from the engine 28 and condensed by the cooling water in the condenser water circulating pipe 43, 24 wherein the water may enter at about "50 80 F. and passes from the condenser at approxi- .mately 105 F. This condenser Water may be wasted through the valve 45 and the waste pipe M. The condensed vapor in the condenser 36 is drawn off through-the pipe Iii and pump 32 and, back to the boiler 25 through the pipe 35.

. .thesurfa'ce water passing through the condenser 3B is heated by absorbing heat from the exhaust vapors of the engine 28; the valve'fiE is gradually shut oil" to thedesired extent so as to by-pass 'a'desired amount of'the hot condenser cooling water through the pipe 65, heater 5?, ifdesired toiraise the waste condenser water to approximately 200 F.,pipe as and into the The hot waste water.

separated'from. its vapors under the low absolute pressure tension which is produced in the pipe 53 connected to the supplementary inlet of the engine 28'. The residue water in the-evaporator'zo heater 4?. may or may not be used, and when used may receive its heat by exhaust steam from some adjacent engine or unit of the plant. It is thus apparent that the engine 28 is operated with a considerably reduced fuel consumption as it reclaims a relatively large proportion of its energy by utilizing the vapors produced in the evaporator cylinder 49 and the utilization of the usually lost heat in the waste water circulated through the condenser 30.

It is well known that operating under the influence of absolute pressures there is a limitation of 14.7 pounds per square inch, absolute pressure. This natural condition would necessarily restrict the obtaining of any effectual horse power in an engine except for the fact that the piston area of the engine may be enlarged considerably in proportion to the horse power desired so as to obtain the necessary results for eificient operation.

Also, the engine may be built up of any number of cylinders and pistons operable on a single crank shaft to build up the necessary horse power. In using this low absolute pressure power plant it will be noted that at the intake side of the engine there is an absolute pressure which is relatively high and that owing to this and to the fact that there is a relatively low-absolute pressure at the exhaust, back pressure or choking in the transfer of the intake steam is eliminated, and thus the engine is free to operate under a lower absolute condenser pressure and the full Working capacity of the absolute pressure is thus obtained with respect to the entire cross sectional area of the piston.

What is claimed is:

1. In a power plant, an engine having a steam chest provided with separate and independent high and low pressure steam inlets and a single outlet, a source of steam under pressure connected to the high pressure inlet of the steam chest for initially starting the piston of the engine, a source of vapor under lower pressure connected to the low pressure inlet of the steam chest for continuing the piston stroke without producing a vacuum on the pressure side of the piston which would retard the movement of the piston, a condenser connected to the outlet of the steam chest, said condenser having a cooling water circuit, a vaporizer connected in said cooling water circuit, and a heater in said circuit between the condenser and the vaporizer to heat the water entering the vaporizer and supply said source of vapor for the engine.

2. In a power plant, a low pressure steam boiler, an engine having a steam inlet connected to the boiler for initially moving the piston of the engine and having a vapor inlet, a condenser connected to the exhaust outlet of the engine and having a cooling water circuit therein for withdrawing and condensing vapors from the engine and operating the piston by differential pressures between the opposite sides of the piston of the engine, and an evaporator connected to the outlet side of the condenser cooling water circuit and to the said vapor inlet of the engine for collecting vapors from the Waste condenser cooling water and supplying the vapor at a low pressure to the pressure side of the piston of the engine and prevent formation of vacuum at the said pressure side of the piston.

3. In a power plant having an engine with a steam inlet, a vapor inlet, a vapor exhaust, and valve means for cutting off the steam supply and opening the vapor inlet upon initial movement of the pistons of the engine, a source of steam connected to the steam inlet of the engine to start the movement of the piston, an evaporator connected to the vapor inlet to supply vapor to the engine when the steam is shut off and prevent formation of a vacuum at the pressure side of the piston, and a condenser connected to the vapor exhaust of the engine to withdraw vapor therefrom and having a cooling water circuit for condensing the vapors from the engine and effecting a low absolute pressure in said exhaust to move the piston by the differential pressures at opposite sides of the piston, said water circuit being connected to the evaporator to collect vapors from the condenser waste water for supplying said vapor inlet of the engine.

4. In a power plant, an engine having a piston, a controlled source of steam supply connected to the engine for operation on the pressure side of the piston of the engine, a water cooled condenser connected to the exhaust of the engine, an exhaust pump connected to the condenser to create a low absolute pressure in the condenser and the exhaust of the engine, an evaporator connected to the outlet of the cooling water circuit of the condenser, and a vapor pipe leading from the evaporator to the inlet of the engine for preventing formation of a vacuum at the pressure side of the piston when the steam is shut off.

5. In a power plant, an engine, a boiler having a steam connection to the engine at the pressure side of the piston of the engine for delivering a restricted volume of steam to the engine, a condenser connected to the exhaust of the engine at the opposite side of the piston, a pump connected between the condenser and the boiler and operable by the engine for reducing the pressure in the condenser to a relatively low absolute pressure and returning the condensate to the boiler, an evaporator connected to the cooling water circuit from the condenser for separating vapor from the waste hot water, and a vapor pipe leading from the evaporator to the engine at the pressure side of the piston to supply vapor under a high absolute pressure thereto and prevent for mation of a vacuum at the pressure side of the piston.

6. A power plant comprising a boiler for generating steam at low pressure, an engine having an initial steam inlet and a secondary vapor inlet and having an exhaust, said engine connected to said boiler at the steam inlet of the engine, a condenser having a water cooling circuit therein and connected to the exhaust of said engine for withdrawing vapors therefrom and condensing the vapors to effect a relatively low absolute pressure in the exhaust of the engine, a suction pump connected to the condenser for withdrawing the condensate, a heater connected to the pump for collecting vapors from the condensate, boiler return pipes connected to the heater for withdrawing the heavy condensate to the boiler and returning the vapors to the boiler and including a separator for entrapping water from the vapors, a heater connected to the outlet side of the condenser cooling water circuit for raising the temperature of the hot water from the condenser, and an evaporator connected to the heater for receiving the heated waste water therefrom and connected to said vapor inlet of the engine for delivering vapor collected from the condenser waste water in the evaporator and prevent formation of a vacuum at the pressure side of the piston in the engine.

VINCEN P. MCVOY. 

